In West Virginia, inmate records are created every day by law enforcement agents. Most often, this is the local police who arrest suspects guilty of committing crimes. They fill out a RAP sheet containing the offender’s name, address, phone number, physical description, and crime details. Then the offender is placed in jail to await trial. Everything that occurs in the inmate’s life is recorded, and the file is updated all the time. The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation is the government agency in charge of creating, storing, and updating inmate records. They keep them online in a consolidated database so that the public may freely search for an inmate at any time.
The state of West Virginia makes it super easy to find an inmate in either jail or prison. The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation has an inmate locator features on their website to facilitate quick retrieval of inmate records any time of day or night. Follow the instructions below to look up someone in a West Virginia jail or prison:
When searching for inmate records, arrests, warrants, court cases, criminal histories, or other public records, another great resource to consult is the Infotracer search tool. They have over 2 million records available.
The West Virginia prison system is nicely consolidated between local law enforcement and the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Their shared records system makes it really easy to find someone incarcerated in the state. They have only a few types of facilities where state prisons and jails are combined. They also have juvenile facilities and federal prisons. The prison system in West Virginia consists of:
The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation oversees and manages all state prisons and jails within the state. They use combined facilities for pretrial detainees and long-term sentenced inmates. The state also has ten juvenile detention centers run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Six federal prisons fall within the state boundaries, and they are managed and operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FOB).
West Virginia’s prison system holds 7,162 residents in various kinds of correctional facilities, from which 5,899 residents are held in state prisons, and 1,263 in local jails.
Correctional Facilities: | Totals: |
---|---|
State Prisons | 5,899 |
Local Jails | 1,263 |
West Virginia is unique in that they combine their state prisons with jail facilities. This keeps everything in one place and makes managing inmates and records much easier. The entire state prison and jail system is managed and overseen by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The list of state prisons/jails in West Virginia include:
The process for finding someone in state prison in West Virginia is very simple. The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation stores and maintains all inmate records. They have a consolidated database where everything is kept online for easy searches. Follow the instructions below to look up a state prison inmate in West Virginia.
The federal government keeps six federal prisons in the state of West Virginia. These facilities hold federal prisoners who have broken federal laws on West Virginia soil. All federal prisons are managed and run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. They have a useful website with information on their organization and all their facilities. The West Virginia federal prisons include:
The process for searching and finding an inmate in a West Virginia federal prison is different than finding someone in state prison. This is because all federal inmates are the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons . They do have an inmate locator feature on their website and make it pretty easy to find someone in any of their facilities across the United States. They also have a page for each facility with directions, information about visiting, phone calls, and sending gifts and money.
West Virginia has nineteen state-run jails that are linked to correctional facilities. This consolidated approach makes facilities and inmate management easier. The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation is the agency in charge of all these facilities and inmate records. The list of West Virginia jails includes:
2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 1,677 | 1,735 | 1,116 | 1,029 | 1,193 | 1,263 |
Male | 1,421 | 1,434 | 814 | 782 | 934 | 989 |
Female | 256 | 301 | 302 | 247 | 259 | 274 |
Finding someone in a West Virginia jail is quite easy. That is because the inmate records are kept consolidated with state prisons. The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation has two inmate locator features on their website. One is specifically for jails. Follow the instructions below to find an inmate in a West Virginia jail:
The state of West Virginia has ten juvenile detention centers to hold their youth offenders. Additionally, the state has another seventeen youth reporting centers which provide at-risk youth with education, therapy, mental health, substance abuse treatments, and other support services. All these facilities are run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The list of juvenile detention facilities in the state of West Virginia include:
Confinement Facilities
Youth Reporting Facilities
Juvenile records are kept private until the offender turns 18 years old. Therefore, you won’t be able to search online for youth offenders. However, finding an inmate in a juvenile detention center is possible by contacting the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation directly or calling the facility to inquire about a specific individual.
There are about 13,000 people incarcerated in West Virginia. More than half of them (7,100) are in state prison, about 3,300 are in jail, another 1,800 are in federal prisons, 570 reside in juvenile detention, and 130 are involuntarily committed to mental institutions. The two most popular reasons that someone is in prison in West Virginia are violent crimes (like murder) and drug offenses. After that, sex crimes, burglary, and larceny are other top reasons.
West Virginia’s incarceration rate for year-end 2016 under state prison or local jail jurisdiction per 100,000 population was 392, which is lower than an average incarceration rate by 13%. The number of West Virginia prisoners at the year-end of 2016 was 7,162, from which 12% were female prisoners, whereas the number of male prisoners was 6,286 in 2016.
2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 367 | 378 | 368 | 372 | 388 | 392 | 392 |
Male | 662 | 681 | 657 | 662 | 688 | 695 | 700 |
Female | 79 | 84 | 85 | 88 | 93 | 95 | 89 |
Although West Virginia has quite a few state prisons, none of them are specifically transitional or reentry facilities. They do have a couple of work camps to provide low-risk inmates with a chance to be of use to society while incarcerated. All other inmates will go back home to family and friends once they are released from prison.
The West Virginia parole board is the entity in charge of monitoring each inmate’s progress. When they feel that an inmate has served enough time and does not pose an additional threat to society, they may be inclined to set them free on parole. Parole is a supervisory program where the inmate must complete specific tasks and have regular check-ins with a parole officer. If they fail to meet any of the conditions of their parole, they will return to prison.
Type of Parole Entry: | Number of Parolees: |
---|---|
State Parole Population: | 3,550 |
Entries: | 2,113 |
Exits: | 1,686 |
Change in 2016: | 13% |
Sometimes a West Virginia judge will order probation rather than prison for a low-risk offender. When this happens, the person is allowed to remain free as long as they follow all court-ordered rules. If they fail to meet regularly with their probation officer, they will go to prison.
Type of Parole Entry: | Number of Parolees: |
---|---|
State Probation Population: | 6,523 |
Entries: | 0 |
Exits: | 1,539 |
Change in 2016: | -6% |